Keying (愛新覺羅耆英, 21 March 1787 – 29 June 1858), also known by his romanized Mandarin Chinese name Qiying or Ch'i-ying ( Wade-Giles) and his Manchu name Kiyeng, was a Manchu statesman during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

of China. An imperial clansman of the house of Aisin Gioro, he began his career in the

Imperial Clan Court The Imperial Clan Court or Court of the Imperial Clan was an institution responsible for all matters pertaining to the imperial family under the Ming and Qing dynasties of imperial China. This institution also existed under the Nguyễn dynasty o ...

. He conducted several peace treaties with Western powers, beginning with the

Treaty of Nanking The Treaty of Nanjing was the peace treaty which ended the First Opium War (1839–1842) between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of China on 29 August 1842. It was the first of what the Chinese later termed the Unequal Treaties. In the ...

, which ended the First Opium War with Britain in 1842. Keying was sent to negotiate again in 1858 to settle the Arrow War with Britain and France, but the settlement was repudiated by the

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), or by temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing (), given name Yizhu (), was the eighth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 t ...

and he was forced to commit suicide.

Early career

Keying was born on 21 March 1787. A descendant of

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing (), was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. A member of the House of Aisin-Gioro, he reigned ...

's ninth son Babutai (Duke Kexi of the First Rank), Keying was a member of the imperial house of Aisin Gioro, and belonged to the Manchu Plain Blue Banner in the

Eight Banners The Eight Banners (in Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the ...

. He held several prominent posts in the Qing government and was demoted several times because of corruption in office, but managed to regain his position as a leading official in the Qing court.

Opium Wars

In 1842, the

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...

entrusted Keying to conclude a peace treaty with the

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

following the First Opium War, and he was chiefly responsible for negotiating and signing the

. The following year, he signed the

Treaty of the Bogue The Treaty of the Bogue () was a treaty between China and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, concluded in October 1843 to supplement the previous Treaty of Nanking. The treaty's key provisions granted extraterritoriality and mos ...

to supplement the Treaty of Nanking. He also concluded the

Treaty of Wanghia The Treaty of Wanghia (also known as the Treaty of Wangxia; Treaty of peace, amity, and commerce, between the United States of America and the Chinese Empire; ) was the first of the unequal treaties imposed by the United States on China. As per ...

(1844) with the United States, the Treaty of Whampoa (1844) with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and the Treaty of Canton (1847) with

Sweden-Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...

. This is the first group of what the Chinese later called the ''

unequal treaties Unequal treaty is the name given by the Chinese to a series of treaties signed during the 19th and early 20th centuries, between China (mostly referring to the Qing dynasty) and various Western powers (specifically the British Empire, France, the ...

''. In November 1845, Keying was well received in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. In 1858, the

ordered Keying to negotiate a peace treaty with Britain and France to conclude the Second Opium War. During the negotiations, the British interpreters

Horatio Nelson Lay Horatio Nelson Lay (23 January 1832 – 4 May 1898, Forest Hill, Kent, England) was a British diplomat, noted for his role in the ill-fated "Lay-Osborn Flotilla" during the Taiping Rebellion. Biography Early life Horatio Nelson Lay was born in ...

and

Thomas Francis Wade Sir Thomas Francis Wade, (25August 181831July 1895) was a British diplomat and sinologist who produced an early Chinese textbook in English, in 1867, that was later amended, extended and converted into the Wade-Giles romanization system for M ...

sought to expose Keying's duplicity by producing documents the British had captured in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

, in which Keying expressed his contempt for the British. Humiliated, Keying promptly left the negotiations in Tianjin for Beijing and he was later arrested for having left his post in contravention of imperial order. He was sentenced to death by the Imperial Clan Court, but was allowed to commit suicide instead.

Namesakes

*'' Keying'', trading junk and the first Chinese ship to sail to Britain and America. * Keying and Marine House c. 1845, became part of the Hong Kong Hotel in 1866. It was demolished in 1858 and now site of Central Building at Pedder Street and Queen's Road Central.

Notes

References

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Keying 1787 births 1858 deaths Forced suicides of Chinese people Manchu politicians Political office-holders in Guangdong Political office-holders in Jiangsu Qing dynasty diplomats Qing dynasty politicians from Beijing Grand Secretaries of the Qing dynasty Assistant Grand Secretaries Viceroys of Liangjiang Viceroys of Liangguang Manchu Plain Blue Bannermen